YORK looks to have lost a second bid for funding to help tackle spiralling crime with a city-wide system of street wardens.

The news will come as a particular blow following the latest statistics, revealed in Saturday's Evening Press, showing a 38 per cent rise in crime in York in April and May.

Home Secretary David Blunkett was accused today of breaking an assurance in February to former City of York Council leader Rod Hills that a second application for government funding would be successful. Liberal Democrat councillor Irene Waudby said: "I am extremely concerned that after assurances given by David Blunkett to Coun Hills, it now appears as if once again the promises of central government have failed to materialise in the provision of security for residents of the City of York."

But York MP Hugh Bayley scorned any suggestion that funding had ever been promised by Mr Blunkett. "He never suggested any such thing. It's absurd to suggest that decisions like these can be taken on a whim by the Home Secretary. We were asking him to take another look at it, and this he agreed to do."

The officer in charge of the bid, John Hocking, said today the authority was still waiting to be told if it had succeeded.

But Coun Waudby said she understood that "sources within the Home Office" had revealed that it had been turned down.

She said the failed bid was for a scheme of no more than 15 wardens to patrol the 21 wards that experience the city's highest crime rates. The scheme was to cost £257,000, half of which was to be funded by central government. The wardens were to provide uniformed patrols around the targeted wards in order to help reduce crime and the fear of crime, improve the physical appearance of the area and foster a sense of social inclusion.

Mr Bayley said he was disappointed by the decision, which he believed resulted from many more applications being made than there was funding available.

He believed York should press on with warden schemes funded by ward committees to show how they could work before submitting another bid.

Labour council leader Dave Merrett said there were "indications" that the amount of money available for such schemes nationally was less than had been thought, and York's crime rate was lower than many other areas.

"We will need to re-look at the position, because this is an important initiative," he said.

Updated: 14:34 Monday, July 15, 2002